There were three weeks in between Abby and Lucky's diagnosis and in those weeks I was consumed with all things cancer. After Abby's diagnosis we called NC State and made the first appointment with an oncologist that we could get. Our vet was optimistic about the tumor. Telling us that her particular type of tumor was slow growing and she felt fairly certain it would be operable. However, that didn't ease my fears of the unknown and I poured myself into learning anything and everything about cancer.
The first thing I did was purchase books about cancer in dogs. I choose to purchase books about holistic care, as much of my research had pointed to environmental toxins playing a big role in causing cancer. The first I purchased was The Natural Vet's Guide to Preventing and Treating Cancer in Dogs by Shawn Messonier D.V.M. I also purchased Dog Cancer: The Holistic Answer: A Step by Step Guide by Dr. Steven Eisen.
Dr. Eisen's book was very informative and provided a detailed plan of how to get your dog toxin free and living a balanced holistic life. Unfortunately, many of the vitamins and supplements he recommended were very expensive, and the list was so extensive it was impossible for us to afford them all.
Dr. Messonier's book was much more thorough and provided summaries on each type of cancer (which proved helpful once Lucky was also diagnosed), treatment options (both conventional and holistic) and diet and nutrition. While there were also lots of different supplements we couldn't afford, I found this book to be a wealth of information.
After reading the books I came up with a list of questions. Throughout this whole journey I have made list after list to make sure I don't forget anything. If you are just starting this journey these are some helpful questions to ask:
What is the specific diagnosis? (type, grade (if it involves masses) and stage)
What is the chance of it metastasizing? What diagnostic tests will show if it has?
What are my treatment options? How effective are they typically?
What side effects (both common and less common) can I expect from treatments? How do other animals typically respond?
How will I recognize side effects? How long will treatments last and how often will they be?
What are the chances of recurrence after treatment?
What is the prognosis, with and without treatment?
What modifications do you recommend to diet and supplements?
Are there any grants/organizations to help with vet bills related to this?
Of course, I had many other questions specific to my dog and diagnosis but these questions provided a good starting point.
Once the pathology reports came back I turned to Google Scholar to look for relevant articles and case studies. This was much more helpful with Abby because her type of cancer was so rare and treatment options were very limited. The articles are written in medical jargon and can be a bit hard to digest but I plugged right through with my online dictionary and tried to comprehend as best I could. I was constantly finding case studies and forwarding them to our oncologist who I'm sure hated me for it. However, my research later proved to be very, very, useful for Abby.
In regards to nutrition and supplements, I was so overwhelmed with information about supplements and nutrition that I didn't know when to start. Just looking at the piles of articles I'd printed out, notes I'd taken, and books I'd read almost gave me a panic attack because I just didn't know what to do. I finally broke down and visited a holistic vet who gave me good advice on where to start. She gave us some recipes to get us started and a list of supplements. Some of what she told me conflicted with what I'd read, but I was thankful to have some of the information narrowed down and to know at least where to begin (In a few blogs I'll tell you our diet regime for the girls because I know that is one of the things I wanted to know most of all. I can also email the recipes the holistic vet provided as well.) Some online resources I used for nutrition were: free PDF of The Dog Cancer Diet and Nutrition and Cancer, Frontiers for a Cure!
I also decided to remove as many toxins as possible. We literally stopped drinking the water. Ironically enough, all three of our direct neighbors have lost the women in their households to cancer. While there many be no correlation, we can't help but be suspicious and plan to have the water tested. In the meantime we and our pets only drink purified, bottled water. We also switched to all natural cleaning products. I do buy our dish detergent, but buy the kind that is 99.5% natural. I found some great websites that gave recipes for cleaning products and I use those. Often times I find it's cheaper to make my own cleaning products and my house gets just as clean. You may want to check out the websites http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Living-Green/2008/1023/how-to-be-clean-and-green/(page)/2 and http://lorettawallace.net/clean_green. I found the second link most helpful because it had more recipes.
And all this was done before we even had the initial consult with the oncologist...Whew! Needless to say I spent many sleepless nights with my book light, a highlighter, and my snoring husband beside me. At some point my family was ready to stage an intervention because they thought I was becoming obsessed. However, in the long run, no matter what anyone else thinks, it is always better to be as educated about your situation as possible.
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